Man arrested in peacock 'vampire' killing

Police say they've collared the man they believe administered a fatal beating to a peacock because he thought it was a vampire.

Police sources told the Advance last night that cops arrested John N. Potts, 32 -- who lists his stepfather's house on Surfside Plaza in Tottenville as his address but may, in fact, be homeless -- in connection with Thursday's avian assault

Potts was picked up just before 7 p.m. yesterday, after he sparked a domestic disturbance at the stepfather's house, capping a wild weekend for a man described by one source as emotionally disturbed.

Sources said he quarreled with his stepfather, menaced him with a shovel and said, "I'll smash your face."

He then jumped into the waters of the Raritan Bay off Sprague Avenue, the shovel still in his hands, a police source said.

Arriving cops coaxed Potts out of the water, the source said, and, as they investigated, determined he was involved in the attack on the peacock.

So they produced a witness to the assault, who identified Potts, the source said.

The peacock had wandered into the parking lot of the Burger King at Page Avenue and Amboy Road in Tottenville Thursday morning, and jumped onto the hood of a car.

That's when the 5-foot-6-inch, 135-pound Potts showed up, cops say. According to witnesses, he grabbed the helpless bird by its neck, threw it to the ground, and stomped and kicked it repeatedly. He yelled, "I'm killing a vampire!" and ripped off his shirt during the attack, witnesses said. The mortally injured peacock had to be put down.

The next day, police arrested Potts for trespassing, after he entered the property of a Surfside Plaza resident, the source said. He spent the night in jail and was released after a court appearance Saturday, the source said.

Yesterday morning, he was back in trouble again -- cops issued him a summons after catching him with marijuana, the source said. Then, later in the day yesterday, he went to his stepfathe'rs house and initiated the disturbance that ended with his dip in the bay with a shovel, according to the source.

Potts faces charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon for the shovel incident, and aggravated animal cruelty and torturing and injuring an animal.

Felicia Finnegan, a 19-year-old Burger King employee who witnessed the attack when she went out to feed the bird bread, said she was relieved by Potts' capture.

"I'm very happy that they caught him. A lot of people had been seeing him around, doing all kinds of crazy things," she said. "I think he should definitely go to jail and probably get evaluated. He's a sick person."

She added, "I feel better knowing that they caught him, and that he won't do something like that again, or something worse."

Ms. Finnegan said she was surprised by the worldwide attention the story has gotten, adding that people have looked up her MySpace.com account to offer her condolences.